What can I say? I'm a sucker for socially responsible business plans.
Here are two great companies that recently came to my attention. They both have combined philanthropy and social justice in their businesses, albeit in very different ways.
GOOD Magazine is a company that, when you subscribe, gives your subscription fee to a non-profit of your choice. Why do this instead of just giving the money away yourself? Because GOOD Magazine is also a publication that gives you real news and information, not that dumbed down version that you find on the newsstand these days. The power of knowledge, plus the support of organizations doing well, can lead to real change!
Summa Cum Laude Tutors takes a different approach to doing good. They enlist volunteer medical students to tutor high-income high school kids in Manhattan, and use the fees generated by this to give to worthy non-profit organizations. The med school kids gain skills in teaching and helping others towards academic success, and by volunteering, commit themselves to public service. Everybody wins!
These small businesses are showing that companies can really make a difference. Their philanthropy doesn't have to be a side job, either. I hope we see more and more of these business plans in the future.
Showing posts with label philanthropy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philanthropy. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Friday, November 16, 2007
Buy One, Give One
If you are planning to buy some stuff this holiday season, you might want to consider a "Buy One, Give One" program. Many, many socially responsible businesses now regularly donate 10% of the purchase price of items to non-profits or local schools. Buy One, Give One programs take that concept further by donating an item of equal value to the one purchased. Read on for three great programs: the Bogo solar powered flashlight, the XO laptop, and Tam and Rob fair trade clothing company.
Sun Night Solar has developed a Buy One, Give One program for their Bogo solar powered flashlight. These fabulous flashlights are a terrific innovation for us in the developed world, reducing the expense and pollution associated with disposable batteries. In the developing world they are priceless. According to the Sun Night Solar website, "two billion people living in the developing world rely on kerosene lanterns, candles, and single-use battery flashlights for light at night. Not only are these options expensive, dangerous, and harmful to the environment, they also negatively impact health, education, and security." The Bogo light provides an opportunity for children to further their educational opportunities by reading at night, which is especially important in developing countries where children often work during the day. These flashlights also reduce the dangerous, expensive and carbon-emitting use of kerosene. The Bogo solar powered flashlights cost $25, and the buyer gets to choose which US nonprofit will distribute the flashlight to a program in a developing country. Mom, if you're reading, one of these lights is all I want for Christmas!
Another fabulous Buy One, Give One scheme is through One Laptop Per Child. Their mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education. Collaborating with design experts from academia and industry, OLPC developed the XO laptop: "The result is a unique harmony of form and function; a flexible, ultra-low-cost, power-efficient, responsive, and durable machine with which nations of the emerging world can leapfrog decades of development—immediately transforming the content and quality of their children's learning." Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program for a brief window of time in North America. For $399, you will be able to purchase two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home. The buyer can also just donate an XO laptop for $200.
Lastly, this holiday season, the women's fair trade fashion label Tam & Rob is launching Buy One Give One Free for Christmas. For every item purchased before Christmas, a new sari will be donated to a destitute woman through the charity Social Action for Association and Development (SAAD) in Maharashtra, India. Tam & Rob supports the work of SAAD, a charity that provides literacy and skills training to some of the world’s most vulnerable women, as the label’s own ethos is also to increase opportunities for disadvantaged groups. The new saris donated by Tam & Rob will benefit these women as they start their new lives and careers supported by SAAD. These companies are doing well by doing good, and we hope you'll support them if you can.
Sun Night Solar has developed a Buy One, Give One program for their Bogo solar powered flashlight. These fabulous flashlights are a terrific innovation for us in the developed world, reducing the expense and pollution associated with disposable batteries. In the developing world they are priceless. According to the Sun Night Solar website, "two billion people living in the developing world rely on kerosene lanterns, candles, and single-use battery flashlights for light at night. Not only are these options expensive, dangerous, and harmful to the environment, they also negatively impact health, education, and security." The Bogo light provides an opportunity for children to further their educational opportunities by reading at night, which is especially important in developing countries where children often work during the day. These flashlights also reduce the dangerous, expensive and carbon-emitting use of kerosene. The Bogo solar powered flashlights cost $25, and the buyer gets to choose which US nonprofit will distribute the flashlight to a program in a developing country. Mom, if you're reading, one of these lights is all I want for Christmas!
Another fabulous Buy One, Give One scheme is through One Laptop Per Child. Their mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education. Collaborating with design experts from academia and industry, OLPC developed the XO laptop: "The result is a unique harmony of form and function; a flexible, ultra-low-cost, power-efficient, responsive, and durable machine with which nations of the emerging world can leapfrog decades of development—immediately transforming the content and quality of their children's learning." Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program for a brief window of time in North America. For $399, you will be able to purchase two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home. The buyer can also just donate an XO laptop for $200.
Lastly, this holiday season, the women's fair trade fashion label Tam & Rob is launching Buy One Give One Free for Christmas. For every item purchased before Christmas, a new sari will be donated to a destitute woman through the charity Social Action for Association and Development (SAAD) in Maharashtra, India. Tam & Rob supports the work of SAAD, a charity that provides literacy and skills training to some of the world’s most vulnerable women, as the label’s own ethos is also to increase opportunities for disadvantaged groups. The new saris donated by Tam & Rob will benefit these women as they start their new lives and careers supported by SAAD. These companies are doing well by doing good, and we hope you'll support them if you can.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Philanthropy through your food!
Here's an interesting way of thinking of local foods: as a way of spending your money wisely.
Those with philanthropic tendencies can use the local food market, through shopping farmer's markets or demanding local foods in grocery stores, as a way of giving to their community and supporting healthy neighborhoods. This has the added bonus of helping philanthropists eat better, too!
This is one of many ways that shows that you don't have to be rich to be a philanthropist -- it's all about the choices you make in life. For more articles about philanthropy and areas we care about, visit www.philanthromedia.org.
Those with philanthropic tendencies can use the local food market, through shopping farmer's markets or demanding local foods in grocery stores, as a way of giving to their community and supporting healthy neighborhoods. This has the added bonus of helping philanthropists eat better, too!
This is one of many ways that shows that you don't have to be rich to be a philanthropist -- it's all about the choices you make in life. For more articles about philanthropy and areas we care about, visit www.philanthromedia.org.
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